Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Tonka
I've leased and purchased as a business owner. The lease is thought of as easier and cleaner. Depending on your vehicle's value at the end of the lease term and your negotiated residual, it may make sense for your to purchase it personally and then sell it for some extra cash. Of course if the above parameters are favorable.
Purchase is straight forward. You buy it and depreciate it over the years or in some cases, if it makes sense for your business, much of it all at once, depending on the current allowances made available by the govt.
I think purchasing it just as easy and clean as leasing, especially if you trade in a vehicle and get a new one. The vehicle is a perk as a business owner. There used to be a certain value allowed by IRS for a vehicle as a tax free perk to the business owner. I'm not sure how stringent the IRS is on this issue anymore. And unless your company owns a Maybach or Bentleys i doubt they care. My wife is an accountant and she didn't give a crap how the business acquired any of the past vehicles or current vehicles the business owns. Company has two officers and owns two vehicles. I'm sure if our company owned 14 cars they, the IRS would have issue with that.
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Mr Tonka got it right.
From an accounting stand point Leases are cleaner and easier to deal with. When you start depreciate assets it get complicated and depend on the depreciate schedule you use, if you depreciate it too fast and then sell it and find that you sold it for more then what was left on the depreciate value you now have to show it as income. You do not have any of this with a lease it clean and a simple expense write off.
The only time to buy and depreciate is when you know you going to hang onto the asset past is useful life or run it in to the ground.